The thought was that Sprint sees themselves as having been burned by the Palm Pre launch. While the launch itself was a success for Sprint – the biggest launch in their history up to that point – sales and support afterwards didn’t live up to expectations. We’ve even heard from Sprint executives that they weren’t exactly happy with Palmor the Pre in the long haul. So there’s plenty of reason for Sprint to feel some notes of scorn towards HP and webOS.

But what if it’s the other way around?

What if it’s Palm that felt burned by Sprint, and Sprint actually wants to carry the Pre3 in order to satisfy that eager webOS base? It runs contrary to how you might think about it, but it makes sense as an option if you think about it. Sprint shares a portion of the blame for the disappointment of the Pre as Palm. Carriers play a big role in the phone launch process, and between the advertising and quality and training there’s plenty of blame to go around.

After the Pre launched, Sprint deliberately had Palm handicap the Pixi by removing Wi-Fi (which was added back in for the Verizon and AT&T Pixi Plus), and then took a pass on carrying both the Pre Plus and Pre 2. There have been plenty of anxious Sprint webOS users practically begging for a new webOS phone, and many of our readers (and this blogger) went through the process of hacking together a Sprint Pre Plus or Pre 2 of our own, in the process voiding the warranty of two phones and spending a good chunk of change just to have an up-to-date webOS experience on our network of choice.

So the question still remains, is it Sprint that’s spurned HP, or HP that’s hating on Sprint? We’re starting to get the feeling it might be the latter more than the former (which we’re sure is going to kick up all sorts of dust in the comments – keep it civil, people). A few weeks ago when This is my next confirmed that the Pre3 would in fact not be coming to Sprint, they noted that their source said that “HP hasn’t planned any future devices for the carrier as of yet either.” We don’t know if this anonymous source is associated with HP or Sprint, but the news was a stab in the heart for the Sprint webOS fans.

But there’s that wording – “HP hasn’t planned” – that started our wondering. It was a small voice nagging at the back of our mostly empty heads, but it wouldn’t go away. The nagging was kicked into high gear when one of our readers, a small business owner and Sprint subscriber, forwarded us a short but juicy email. He, like many other Sprint webOS fans, had emailed Sprint’s executive team looking for answers, or at least to let them know that he and his business really want a new generation of webOS. While the first response was from a concerned Bob Johnson, Sprint’s Chief Service Officer (in charge of Sprint’s customer experience, care, service, and repair), telling Mr. Source to expect a call from retention shortly.

Not long after that, Sprint President of Network Operations and Wholesale Steven Elfman hit the Reply All button and neglected to take Mr. Source from the recipients list. Elfman is responsible for Sprint’s product development and IT services, as well as wholesale network capacity. As such, he’s the guy that works with the carriers on getting phones onto the network, Palm and HP included. His response was short but sweet:

“A shame but they only want to sell to ATT and VZW which we have documented for council.”

We’ll let that sink in for a minute. According to Mr. Elfman, it’s not Sprint that’s done with HP – it’s HP that’s done with Sprint. Somehow that hurts even more than thinking that Sprint was the burned party here. In HP’s choice to concentrate their efforts on getting new hardware and software out instead of trying to get webOS 2.0 running well on old hardware, they essentially abandoned the installed webOS userbase. In the quest for bigger marketshare, it appears that HP is taking the step of permanently abandoning a good portion of those users. As many have noted, their loyalty to Sprint is strong – nearly half in our poll were likely to stay with Sprint and use something other than webOS, or had already made the platform switch (and that’s among our webOS-centric readerbase). Verizon and AT&T are both significantly bigger than Sprint, and if AT&T’s proposed purchase of T-Mobile goes through, they will be even more so.

HP under Mark Hurd and now under Leo Apotheker is striving for focus. webOS now has their massive negotiating power behind the platform and they no longer have to settle for getting by on a third-place carrier like Sprint. HP’s gunning for the big leagues here, and like it or not, that means leaving behind those in the minors that got them where they are. Sadly, that means customers as much as it means networks.

On the flip side of that coin, it might not be wise to cut those ties when you haven't made the big leagues yet. HP might be the big dog in PCs, but they're not even a small player in the mobile space. That might change, but right now they need all the help they can get, and cutting off 12 million potential customers and a good chunk of your current webOS base isn't going to help. Even with HP's supposedly limitless resources, they don't have the luxury of being able to do everything at once. There's a reason Apple launched on just AT&T at first (and it's not just because Verizon laughed them out of the office) - they didn't have the experience with carriers that they do now. The business unit formerly known as Palm has plenty of experience with the carriers, but not a lot of weight. They have to pick and choose where to apply their efforts, and apparently that means networks other than Sprint.

184 Comments

Finally this point came around. Simply HP wants to launch the products on carriers that will give the biggest bang and Verizon/ATT are the big players in the states. We may see Sprint devices later on for kicks. Either way it's still a pity for Im a Sprint customer.

Jon did make a specific point of saying that HP was looking forward to releasing H+ and LTE devices at a time when Wimax was the widest available 4G platform. So, it's plausible that HP has turned its back on Sprint.

not plausible at all. Possible, but then it may be possible that some day HP will actually launch another Pre in the U.S. and it might be possible that some day they may launch a phone with actual current top-end specs. The top manufacturers want to be on Sprint and yet HP says "Nyet"? REALLY?

HP has reached their Zenith and it is all down hill from here on out. They didn't have enough juice to sustain their digital camera lines that were going to rule the industry. These phones aren't any different. Even their touchpads will fail. It isn't desktop to laptop to tablet. It is phone to tablet with HP not having any real 2011 phone to compel most to get their tablet.

You're right to imply that by the time the pre3 is launched it will no longer have "top-end specs," and to say that not having any new phones won't compel customers to buy the Touchpad.

However, I think you're wrong to say the HP, and by extension webos, has reached its zenith. We don't know enough info yet. We don't know sells figures, we don't know how the market will change, and we don't know what improvements are coming. It seems like you are just frustrated and I can empathize

I was about to make a similar suggestion. Perhaps HP was simply waiting for Sprint to make the switch from WiMax to LTE, which apparently they are doing with a deal they signed today with LightSquared.

This way, if the Pre3 or other future devices are to be 4G-compatible, they don't have to worry about one more competing standard, and thereby reduce production costs.

This is what I really don't get, why they'd spurn Sprint when the difference between a Sprint phone and a Verizon phone is what name is screen printed on the device and a simple list of accepted ESN for each carrier. But then again that's also something I haven't understood about regional carriers and why they don't end up selling the same devices that Verizon and Sprint are selling even after a half year or more since it's essentially the same case with them.

i hear u BUT i heard that sprint is going to get rid of the unlimited plans and put in same plans like the other carriars have. well hp has lost me i have no choice my pre finally drove me nuts had to get my wifes old BB tour. granted i hate the thing but i dont have to pay for the extra $10 a month for my pixi cause they consider the pixi a "smartphone". sorry getting off of track but the pixi sucks compared to the pre. i'm not paying an extra $10 a month for a 3g phone they have to be crazy @ sprint whoever thought of that charge. i thought my plan was unlimited everything but NO.

i don't know much about whether or not if Sprint is really getting rid of their unlimited plans, but they have just been advertising that what they have over all the other carriers is unlimited data. i don't think that they would start a new advertising campaign saying that they have unlimited data plans if they were going to drop unlimited data in the near future future... also to get on the point of the article; HP prob isnt going with Sprint because of how up-in-the-air WiMax is. are they going with ir or not? who knows. its too much of a gamble making a phone for a network who's direction isn't so clear. i just got an EVO 3D and i was happy to know that they prepped it for Sprint's new mobile broadband that isnt Wimax... i was hoping that the Pre3 would have been announced within the 30 days that i had to return it, but today is that day and it hasnt :( oh well. this phone is super nice, fast, capable, flashy and all, its just too damn big and heavy. i gotta say though, the screen size and rez is really nice. the 3D can b fun too.

gamble? Why then is Motorola, HTC, and Samsung launching their wimax products on Sprint? The only gamble is making a wimax phone when the only wimax player has already told you to piss off repeatedly. The only thing that HP has done right in all of this is to not mass produce a phone for Sprint that Sprint doesn't want.

It's a minor risk for those companies, it's a full gamble for HP. Palm/HP/WebOS is yet to command enough consumer/enterprise attention to make a dent in market share for wireless devices, no matter what the carrier or technology involved.

Saying that HP wants to launch on the larger carriers would carry some weight if there was any sign of a Pre 3 launch in the first place. Leaving Sprint for last or not at all may upset some people, but then, where are the Verizon and/or AT&T Pre 3 phones? This is the big flaw in ANY logic, because HP has put the PHONE that would sell more units than the Touchpad on the back burner.

What would sell more units and get more attention for HP? Phones. What is the ratio of iPhone to iPad purchases? Would the iPad have sold as many without the iPhone being out there already? Then look at WebOS, where the tablet is taking the lead in sales, and it just doesn't make sense!

This idea should be crushed before it is allowed to breathe. The fallout after the Think Beyond event tells us everything we need to know. Everyone was up in arms about Sprint carrying the new phones. After several days of Facebook spamming from the community, HP posted something to the affect that if you want a WebOS phone on Sprint, ask Sprint! That was as official a word as you are going to get.

My Rant!!! It’s amazing this question is bieng asked. I’ve been a Palm Pre owner from day one on Sprint; I’ve been eligible for a new phone upgrade since Jun 2010. Let me say this first; I’m a diehard fan of WebOS, however, on the 16th of July, I had to make a tough decision. The screen on my Pre was suffering from what’s called spider web cracks on the lower left-hand side, my hotmail and G-mail sync would malfunction occasionally, my Tel Nav program would be non responsive at times. I take a lot of pictures using my phone and lately whenever I really wanted to take a picture of people or object in special or unique moments my camera application freezes with a black screen and after I wait for about a minute or two it would activate or sometime I would have to do a luna restart and on top of that HP does not support the original Palm Pre. All of this being said I had to really sit down and asked myself why would I replace this phone with another one and I could not come up with a logical reasons except for the elegant‘s of WebOS and that wasn’t enough for me. I’ve been with Sprint for over 12 years and I’m happy with the service and cost of my phone plan, so, why would I be willing to pay an addition $30 to $40 dollars a month by changing to another carrier, not to mention; losing the perks I have with sprint, I had to say to myself “you know what? HP isn’t paying you for anything, so, why take-on an additional costs for them”. So the 16th of July was a bitter sweet day for me because I replaced my failing original Pre and I purchased the HTC EVO 3D and I must say I’m very happy with the capabilities of this phone. After a couple hours of having it I kept saying to myself that this is the type capabilities WebOS need to have their phones. Look at all of the major carries and ask yourself why isn’t WebOS on phones with capabilities like the Iphone, HTC EVO 3D, Nexus S, HTC HD7S, Samsung Infuse, HTC Thunderbolt, Droid Charge, T-mobile G2X, and Samsung Exhibit, these phone has capabilities I desired in a phone and I stayed with Palm now HP for 25 months waiting for a phone with all of the latest capabilities and to this date, they’ve not delivered. Conclusion: From this point forward I’m going to purchase a phone that have the majority of the capabilities I desire in a phone, never again, will I be loyal to a Brand and hold out on hopes that something will be delivered (In the coming months)…I still believe WebOS is the best OS on the market today and I’m pulling for HP and hope that around this time next year they’re have solid hardware and capabilities on phones that’s second to none. Oh yeah I know this is crazy but I’ve had my Pre holster on my belt along with my HTC EVO 3D being holstered and sometime when I would have a Wi-Fi connection I would check things on my Pre…well today when I get home I’m going to play Taps for my Pre and lay it in its final resting place…my dresser draw. One last thing…Thanks HOMEBREW you guys are awesome keep up the great work, because who knows maybe one day…I’ll be back!

That's awesome. I have the exact same issues with my camera. Much frustration when a picture moment comes up and my unreliable phone can't take a single danm picture. I can't wait to smash my pre with a sledgehammer.

AT this point I think i'm 95% sure i'm also going to join the hundreds (if not thousands) of other pre minus owners and switch to Android on Sprint. The other 5% is because I really like the "Just Type" and synergy features.

All the best to HP and you guys still holding out, but from my experience it's all talk and no action. Then when it is time for action it's underpowered and over priced devices.

It is, but who will move to Verizon or At&t? unless you like to give money away for a service that is not superior to Sprint, and to have a throtelled bandwidth?

HP is killing WebOS, I'm starting to hate HP.

Adds are BAD, out of time, Touchpads on stores are turned off, nobody in the store knows how to use them or the advantages of the best Mobile OS.

Also HP didn't fix the slowness on boot time of WebOS.

I still own my Pre, note pre not Pre plus or Pre 2, is finally showing up wear and tear now some times display wont come on lately. But I don't like android or ios, they are archaic compared to webOS, and HP is pulling the Sony, just not knowing how to make it popular and appealing. So disappointing.

To activate a new phone on Sprint, it will cost an extra $10 per line. Our 2 line setup with the actual data we use costs the same as we do now, with the exception of text messaging. The new $10 fees per phone more than covers the small texting that we do.

We would be happy to stay with Sprint, but Sprint only wants Android users now.

So this site every couple of days rolls out a Sprint story to rile up the comments, no new or actual statements or information needed. Its all good, cause it works wonders, it attracts the trolls who attract the fans, or the other way around it doesnt matter. Everyone asking for sources, and no one has, and everyone thinks their argument is better. Well played, Precentral, well played.

Right. I mean, we already understand that Pre 3 won't arrive at Sprint, so what's the use in bringing it up again every few days. Let it go!
If someone wants to ditch Sprint in order to stay on WebOS, great; if they stay on Sprint and change platform, I completely understand, but this continuing bickering regarding the issue doesn't help anyone. It's like a couple breaking up, but still meeting every few days to discuss things.
I'm not trying to flamebait, just hoping we move on already. This continued discussion doesn't help anyone and won't change either Sprint's or HP's minds.

With a lack of the Pre 3 on any carrier, and no confirmed release dates or even confirmations about carriers at this point, speculation is the only thing we as WebOS fans can do. If people stay with Sprint or leave, or switch platforms for the Pre 3, does it really matter if the Pre 3 doesn't come out for another few months?

You would have expected some REAL leaks to indicate that the phones are ready to go on one carrier or the other by now, and there has been NOTHING to indicate if or when we can expect real sales. Pre-orders from distributors...that don't have product yet, and don't have a hard date or confirmation that devices have actually started shipping is a BAD sign.

If this is the case, it would be petty and irresponsible of HP to do and no way to run a giant company. While events of the past few years suggest that HP is poorly run, I doubt if it's that badly run.

It's unfortunate that they would neglect Sprint like that. If it really was HP that decided to dump Sprint, this will probably come back to bite them. Once Sprint gets the iPhone, their attitude towards webOS will probably be like Verizon's. They'll carry webOS devices, but sales reps will only be concerned pushing Android & iPhones.

I think HP is proactively looking to sell less units...I mean, who else holds a HUGE conference in February to announce a phone (and other products) that STILL aren't available 5 months...and counting later. (yes, some products are...I know that, but how hard is it to launch ONE phone??)

I mean, a week later Apple announces the new iphone, and bam...it's there 30 days later. Heck, the iphone 5 will be out before the pre3 at this rate.

For a big company with billions...they sure SUCK at getting products to market in a timely manner.

And the thing is, even 5 months ago the technology wasn't groundbreaking.

Jan 2011: 90% sure I was going to get a Pre3, 10% sure I was going to get an Evo3D.

March 2011 (hearing the release date slipped): 70% sure I was going to get a Pre3, 30% sure Evo3D.

June 2011 (hearing it'd slip again): 50% sure I was going to get a Pre3, 50% sure I'm getting an Evo3D.

End of June 2011 (after Evo3D reviews stating the Evo3D's battery life is pretty much on par with my Pre-): 40% sure I'm going to get an Android phone on AT&T, 30% going to get an Android phone on Sprint, 30% sure I'm getting a Pre3 on whatever. AT&T is tempting because they get good signal in my place and Sprint's data speeds on 3G are pretty absurdly slow now that I've actually paid attention. They're usually 2-3x slower than AT&T or T-Mobile 3G.

Current: 70% I'm going to get the Galaxy S 2 when it comes out on AT&T, 20% I'm getting a Pre3 on AT&T, 10% an Android phone on Sprint.

At this point I think it's better to get an Android, iOS, or WP7 phone. Get the webOS phone a generation later IF THEY SURVIVE. If they manage to survive, then the next generation phones will probably be released more on schedule. At the rate they're going though I don't see them sticking around. They need to get Samsung, HTC, or Moto to start building them phones. Their turn around time puts HP to shame.

I agree completely. I kinda feel more than burned by HP/Palm it feels almost more like they are actively trying to get rid of the old user base. I kinda feel like i should be saying, "Okay HP/Palm, I get the point, I'm not welcome here. I'll go somewhere else." I mean the rebate on the more expensive version was a real slap in the face. I mean we held WebOS's head above the water long enough for someone to find them and scoop their @$$ out of the water and revive them. best way to say thank you is to say no more phones for you on your carrier and for your loyalty please spend at least 50.00 more on a tablet then you actually planned on spending. Bravo HP, I think I'm finally going to take the hint and move on and out. Great Customer care and satisfaction. Acting more like Apple by the min.

if it's resource management offer more off on the higher end priced machine. make it 150 off so it's actually more of an incentive to buy a 1st gen device and be an early adopter for HP. They failed the loyal WebOS followers. It was seriously a bogus move.

It's and interesting thought... I thought at the time tha tSprint handled the initial Pre launch very poorly, and in the following months it got even worse; the salespeople were down right hostile towards me and my kids and employees who all had webOS. All I heard was "Android, Android, Android" and it was really annoying!

I do doubt that HP is snubbing Sprint though, it isn't very logical to walk away from any business and Sprint is #3 afterall.

You guys are right, of course. I got my history mixed up and I was interupted several times while composing the post so finally I just sent it! Thanks for catching me.

But really, Sprint has never supported webOS very well from my point of view. For example: Day one; we activated 5 lines, 4 pre's and one of something else, I can't even remember. They accidentally assigned my number to the something else phone and I got it's number, all understandable as the store was a zoo. On day 2 I went into a different store to get the problem resolved and was told "This never would have happened if you had gotten any other phone but Palm, they're really hard to activate." I followed that statement up and found out that any phone activates like any other, so long as the network supports it.

My wife isn't as patient as I and switched from a Pre- to a Nexus S a few days ago. I must say that I am impressed. All of the apps that I've been waiting for on WebOS forever (Rhapsody, XMRadio, Netflix, etc, etc, etc) are there in their full glory. Today. Blazingly fast.

I'm sad to say, that I think I will be joining her in the next few days. I really love so much about the software architecture of WebOS, but carrying around a broken, two+ year old (launch day) Pre- has gotten very, very old.

It's also unfortunate because I work for a top mobile app developer and I have been the biggest (only) proponent of WebOS here. We support iOS, Android, Blackberry and WebOS. Our WebOS version is probably going to fade into the sunset.

Unfortunately, HP seems to be continuing the same "small number of quirky form factors available only on select carriers" strategy as Palm, instead of blasting out WebOS phones in every shape, size and color (sliders, slabs, candybars, etc) on every single carrier.

So, good luck HP, I hope you can finally pull this together, but as for me, I think I am done.

I am also in the same boat, my wife and I were release day Pre owners, she also now has a Nexus S 4G, and loves it. I was going to try to hold out, but if the rumor is true, I will be an Android user soon. I love WebOS, but my Pre is falling apart, and I feel betrayed my HP. I will probably only wait as long enough to get the hardware I want. The Android hardware is kicking HP's butt.

I hope this article's premise and the leaked email is actually the case. I REALLY hope so.

I hope they spurn Sprint forever, go exclusively with ATT and Verizon, spend hundreds of million on advertising, 10 times that on bribing developers and put it on 100 kablillion PCs?

Why?

Because there will be no. more. excuses. And HP and Palm's stupidity will be the only culprit left.

They may wanna take a lookie-loo at what's happening with Windows Phone 7, tho. It's mostly on At&T and T-Mobile with one big model on Verizon and one on Sprint.

Aside from the Focus, which is essentially being given away even at upgrade pricing, guess which Windows Phone model is the bestselling one on Amazon?

Yup, SPRINT's HTC Arrive. It's not the biggest. Isn't the thinnest. Doesn't have the sharpest screen. Isn't the cheapest. Costs $100 or more if you're not a new Sprint customer.

But it IS an alternative on a large national carrier with customers hungry for choice. HP and Palm are too stupid o realize that, and would rather keep letting the Big Two bend them over and have their reps laugh at people trying to buy their devices. It is kinda funny, actually....

I took my $1200 Envy back for a refund in February, battered two inkjet all-in-ones into dust and wanted to drag my HP camera behind my car in video mode for as long as it lasted, but it was already malfunctioning. It was therapeutic and I was thinking Beyond.

PreDogs, you can't even afford a 1200dollar Envy. PreDogs you be talking a whole lot of **** but you ain't going to do, what you say your going to do. And if so, take a video of it and show it to the rest of us and prove it. I don't believe you. LOL.

Oh God. What has this place become? One guy isn't buying $200 of insurance for his $3000 worth of toys. Another thinks $1200 is a lot of money for a pro-grade laptop? Is there anybody on this site that is a professional, not employed by HP or existing as a starving developer hoping Enyo catches on. Anybody?

@jackson, not everybody skimps on insurance, lives check to check, or is 19 years old and pumping gas for food money and wireless service. You need video proof that I demolished $180 worth of inkjets with about five years on each of them? LOL, heck, you are right, there is something I can't afford, it's feeding them $30 worth of HP ink each month for 30 pages of output. I've saved a bundle as black and color toners have much better yields and Brother and Minolta make great products.

I gotta start hanging out with jackson, Potsie and Ralph, they'll make me feel like a big shot.

If it's true they're just pissing on their webOS fans. I don't see why HP wouldn't want to put it on every available network. I hope it isn't true. I'll keep being angry with sprint (and also sticking with them and trying a frankenpre2 soon)

I fail to see how sprint has any blame. Palm made a terrible product that caused the customers so many issues plus the OS ran like a turtle and is still filled with bugs. TMC comes to mind. If the pre had better build quality, OS was snappy and proper development tools Webos wouldn't have been the flop that it is.

I'm soooo disappointed. I'm a Sprint customer and a long time Palm user (Palm OS devices starting with the Treo 600, 650, 700, 755, and Centro). I got my Pre about 3 weeks after the original launch. I'm on my second replacement. I love my Pre and WebOS. I was hoping for a Touchpad on Sprint! I will give it to the end of this year to see if HP and Sprint will make the Pre 3 on the Sprint network a reality. (I know it's unlikely, but things can change). If it doesn't happen, I'm going to whoever offers the Touchpad and Pre 3 on the same network. Sorry Sprint. I love having unlimited, I love your affordable plans, but I will give it up for a new Pre 3!

At this point who really cares. Rumors are the Sprint and T-mobile will get the iPhone and Apple's dominance over the cellphone market will be complete. When Sprints get the iPhone I will get an iPhone, If they don't get the iPhone my will move all of my business phones to Android. It's just that simple.

I wish HP luck in gaining traction against Android, Apple and Windows Mobile on AT&T and VZW. They will need it, because right now Apple is king and Android is a strong second.

What if HP's good buddies AT&T and (to a lesser degree, I'm sure) Verizon, want Sprint to fall flat, face first into the mud? Of course they'd tell HP, "Hey, btw, don't bother launching on that other network...they will be obsolete and pitifully small before long...especially if all goes as planned! Along with T-Mo..."

Not to be a negative Nancy or anything, but these networks are not on the consumer's side. Neither are the companies making phones for the networks. We are sheep to them; they are wolves, getting our money in return for their garbage. Even though I am back to using my iPhone, it's not like I am in love with Apple or anything. I just want to use a product that has the features + tweakability + apps that I want from it, all of which = a happy and productive me. I enjoyed my small stint with my Pre 2, but that's where my relationship ends with HP/Palm.

Sprint is the one to blame, it is the only Carrier in the world using the weird CDMA+WiMax combination. HP wants to globalize webOS and creating first a CDMA+WiMax phone makes this slow, since that combination is not used in any other part of the World. In the other hand, launching a GSM/HSPA+ phone like the Veer allows HP to internationalize it faster.

I believe this is the real reason why the Pre 3 isn't going to be on Sprint. We've already seen rumors about the fact that HP tried to get it on Sprint, but Sprint wanted a WiMax version and HP was simply unwilling to add that version to their SKU's.

Until I see otherwise, I will continue to believe this is the true problem.

Yes, but, except for Replenish, all those devices now require Premium Data. When the Wimax build-out pretty much stopped and the upcharge went service-wide, I think Sprint stopped caring what radios new phones had. Samsung and HTC don't seem to have much problem making up a suitable menu for customers with a need for speed.

That's the kind of evidence that got Casey Anthony convicted. Good work, counselor! Oh wait, Casey Anthony walked after prosecution presented more evidence that PreCentral did in this opinion piece.

Sorry Derek, you're going to need a lot more information than that to prove that HP has never planned on selling to Sprint. I also doubt that Sprint rolled over that easily and just gave up because they thought that HP was only interested in AT&T and Verizon. If they truly believe in their network and their customers they'd send someone out to Palo Alto & Cupertino to talk with the HP/legacy Palm team to get them a device. Money talks and this business is about making money not making friends with carriers.

I wanted to pass along my experience at Comic-Con last week - HP had and event which featured the TouchPad along with Hugh Jackman and his new movie. I ended up standing behind the stage with all of the HP employees. One of them, a woman who worked on WebOS told me that there are numerous HP employees walking around their campus with Pre3's on Sprint.

They were made for Sprint to show them how it would work etc. It was her impression that Sprint was the one that killed the deal not HP. - Just thought you'd like to know that the Sprint Pre3 does exist, unfortunately, it will likely never see the light of day :-(

On the HP side, you may have hit it on the head,alvaro_qc. HP may be waiting until Sprint gets their LTE plans in full gear and opens up some more markets before they jump on board again with Sprint...

On the Sprint side... Up until Sprint offered the Pre/Pixi, most of the Smartphones that Sprint offered were basic and boring (in my opinion). They were falling behind the other carriers with their offerings. These Palm devices didn't do well because the weren't marketed properly, so they moved on to the new and upcoming thing, Android. Android has a multitude of manufacturers that can pump out a new device every other day it seems, and a lot of them are cutting-edge tech. That's what Sprint is looking for right now, cutting-edge tech. So far, all we really know about is the Pre 3, which isn't cutting-edge as far as the hardware goes. It's kind of run of the mill as phones go these days. Don't get me wrong, I love the form factor and would love to have one, but that's not what Sprint wants or needs right now. They are trying to be the innovative carrier right now, like AT&T was with the Iphone. HP hasn't shown that they are willing to go there, on the hardware side, at least not yet...

Unfortunately, that sucks for all of us who want to upgrade soon to a new WebOS phone...

I do find it interesting that Sprint is still offering the Pixi though. If they had no plans or interest in carrying a WebOS phone, why hold on to the Pixi?... Strange...

If HP was was waiting for LTE, they wouldn't have announced the Pre 3 had a EVDO Rev. A version on February 9.

The Palm devices didn't do well because they were junk, and they failed on every carrier they launched on, and continue to fail as the Pre 2 and the Veer are clear proof of.

Sprint isn't looking for "cutting edge tech" in everything. They just took sloppy Motorola seconds with a rebranded Droid Pro (XPRT) and a redesigned Atrix (Photon). They sell midrange Samsung Android phones by the bucketful. The HTC Arrive is almost the smallest and chunkiest Windows Phone 7 device.

Most of what you are saying may be true, except for the comment about "Palm devices...were junk". I disagree. I have an original Pre, one of the most complained about WebOs phones for build quality, and I've never had a problem or an issue with it. I love it. I've even overclocked. It keeps on running great...

As far as the LTE issue goes, I didn't necessarily mean that HP wants Sprint to be LTE provider before they would do business with them, I just think that they wanted to wait until Sprint figured out and implement their plans for LTE, since they are changing their plans mid-stream. No sense putting out a Wimax phone when they're going to be changing over to LTE...

Lastly, I understand that Sprint isn't selling all "cutting-edge" phones. They sell lesser, mid-grade phones too. I realize that. But don't you think that since all of the WebOS phones to-date have been Ho-hum as far as the hardware goes, and Sprint seems to be doing very well with their big "cutting edge" phones" that they do have, maybe they're holding out for something real "cutting edge" from HP?

No, I think it's the other way around. Because HP pushing off Sprint doesn't make any sense, unless Sprint will only commit to ordering a number of phones that will effectively NOT make it worth HP's time...and in that case, Sprint is just passive-aggressively getting out of taking care of its Pre users.

HP wants to move its hardware through as many channels as possible. When Sprint orders a bunch of phones, that's money in HPs hands no matter what Sprint's advertising looks like and no matter what Dan Hesse has to say about the Pre.

That said, my rantings about Sprint on the web have drawn the attention of Sprint's customer service, yet again. And this time, when she asked to try and pawn a brand new Android phone on me and I refused anything that wasn't webOS, she asked if she could call me in a month again when the Pre3 was released. Now, I don't know what that means, but I told her in no uncertain terms that I'd leave Sprint if they DIDN'T offer a webOS phone that wasn't a downgrade replacement from my Pre (the Pixi most certainly IS). Absolutely, no Android, no Blackberry, no iPhone...just the Pre 3. And yet, instead of thanking me for my time and hanging up, she asked if she could call me back in a month.

i'm sorry, i find it hard to believe that a large company such as HP would pass up on guaranteed sales on Sprint in exchange for a crack at customers who couldn't care less about webOS. not to mention, they'll be bringing their outdated hardware in direct competition with the iphone on two fronts.

there's no way HP is opting out of Sprint. they know they need to get this device into as many hands as possible. and trying to shoehorn their way onto iOS island and Droid world won't cut it.

The only way it makes sense for HP to limit their release to two carriers is if they have gotten a commitment from those carriers to give their phone serious backing. And that's possible. If that's the case I can't really blame them.

But if not, they should be doing everything they can to get phones out there. More phones, more users, means more app purchases, means more app developers. They need that. They should be willing to lose money on it at this point, because it will cost them a lot more if WebOS flops.

(Also, they should give everyone purchasing a WebOS device some free credit usable in the app catalog. Even if it was just $20 credit. That translates directly to developer support and encouragement. Plus, since they get a cut of app catalog purchases, it wouldn't cost them the full $20.)

This is nonsense. I was at a Sprint store back in March getting my Pre replaced (ha, surprise!) and asked the rep if he knew anything about Pre 3 since it was announced in Feb. He told me that the week prior, an HP rep came into the store to promote their upcoming products. How do you go from this to abandon Sprint altogether?

I was all set to leave Sprint because I thought they were abandoning us WebOS faithfuls. I didn't because of the cost, would have cost me $100 more a month for a 3 phone Verizon plan, and I have a 4 phone Sprint plan. My wife and son both got Android devices and love them. I didn't have the heart to get one, and am still using my friend the pre. If I had to I was going to get an Android until the next Sprint Pre, and also get the Touchpad. But now I feel betrayed by HP. I am going to hold off on getting the Touchpad now, and if they have betrayed us-it will be different tablets and phones for me from now on. We have been extremely faithful to them, and this is how we get treated? No way, this might just be the time to divorce HP. I will vote with my money, yes that includes other HP products.
HP better wake up now or they could lose a large customer base as well as my business. I know I am only one person, but I think there are others who feel the same way.

Also, HP will just get lost on the other two carriers, there are way too many other choices, and they are the little guy on the block with them. The only way that they will sell phones if the carriers give it away for free to people that do nor know better.

For what it's worth, I just activated a two year old Pre on Sprint. The rep who helped me with the ESN switch was very enthusiastic about the Pre and webOS. Its hard to get that kind of enthusiasm at the front line and without it a new OS can struggle a lot. Just ask Microsoft, where folks at Verizon say things like, "oh you don't want that" and then send customers over to Android or iOS.

So, did anyone else notice that this is first mentioned Sprint intentionally crippling the Pixi WiFi? Who's not to say Sprint demanded the next WebOS phone to have 3D or WiMax? Sprint has become a gimmick company and will remain that way until they realize that being the third biggest (my a huge margin) cellphone company cannot change the world all by itself. Apple did change the face of mobile, with AT&T and their own ecosystem that was already in place.

Regardless, HP should have dealt better with their abandoned Pre/Pixi customers. They should have been more direct with us, last Febuary, regarding WebOS 2.0 update. They could have keep their promise to make things right. They could have tacitly accepted us users hacking 2.0 into our phone by not breaking the app catalog on us.

I've been a Palm customer for 10+ years and stuck with Palm through their Colbalt (PalmOS 6) mess, Folio flops, terrible lack of bug fixes for their Treos, cheered when WebOS was announced and to support my favorite underdog I finally bought a Pre a year ago.

I knew Palm could fail but I never thought they would betray their once loyal customers. Scr3w HP!

We've moved on, HP has been to slow. Our two years were up with our second and third Pre, and poor incentives to "make it right". We are enjoying our new Nexus S's on Sprint and will stay here. I'll keep our half dozen touchstone's though in hopes I can put them to use when our next two years are up. Love webos but will watch from the sidelines for now.

you know, no offense to the editors at precentral as they're only given so much to write about, thanks to HPalm's lack of anything lately....

...but this site is becoming quite trite. HPalm is hosing themselves and any potential customers they could have had by not releasing enough products already. I don't know what game-plan they may (or likely may not) have, but it just isn't working and is only upsetting the masses.

The site was dull before the launch of the touchpad. The touchpad launched and it's still drab; the only remnants of webos offered feedback from how terrible the launch was and how much webos lacked a polished finish. (once again)

We are so many days/weeks? into the touchpad release and not even a mention of how many units were sold?? Likely because they numbers are anything but staggering. I'd be willing to bet that 95% of all touchpad sales were from users on this website. They manufactured a massive number of devices for a product that wasn't ready for prime-time and they're flopping once again.

Who knows, maybe HPalm will get it right in the next release. Maybe they'll actually release something that works really well out of the box and customers will actually argue that the price is worth the value. If history repeats itself (again and again and again), this surely will not happen, but who knows.

For now, if they don't release the Pre3 and massive fixes for the touchpad very soon, they're going to lose the remaining customer base they have - since they're not likely to pick up a massive number of sales from ipad2 owners. If you ask me, they should release a bunch of 4G phones so everyone can stop complaining about how they want a small phone, or a phone with a keyboard, or a slab, or a gargantuan device. Just release everything already, or get out of the phone business. I've never seen a strong company delay a release so long.

Can someone with high contacts in HP please just email them this article. Even if it doesn't change their minds, at least they'll be aware of this even if they already know these points. Having Palm's webOS as my first smartphone experience, i'm very dedicated to this OS and Sprint, but as my contract ends in September, I find myself on the fence about staying with sprint and going to android or switching platforms just to stay with the Pre (3). Honestly this broke my heart a little reading this. I hope i can have both Pre3 and sprint, but with september quickly approaching, it's becoming increasingly clear that I can't have both and a bit sentimental about that fact.
P.S.
Mr. Camacho,
I am so sorry for your losses, but your articles about your times with ONLY the Touchpad are more than genuine and trustworthy than anything else we'll see. Your experiences need to be the advertisement for the HP Touchpad. It's genuine, flattering, and completely honest about the negatives. It's what the people (who want a tablet) really need to hear, read, or see. If I had the extra cash, I would most definitely buy a Tablet based on your reviews.

the Pre 3 & Touchpad are very enticing
I will almost certainly go to Verizon if Sprint doesn't carry the Pre 3
loves my Pre & find Sprint's service good, but not sufficiently superior to other carriers to keep me from jumping ship if they don't carry the hardware I want

"Seems to me that the Pre 3 is vaporware and nobody's getting it soon. When is the last time we even heard HP mention it?"

I agree, Bobula.

At this point, I'm beginning to doubt seriously that we'll see the Pre3 on any carrier. Sure, they've filed with the FCC, and we've had announcements, but they also said that we would get an OS updated for the Pre +/- and then went back on that.

It's a sad state of affairs these days in WebOS land. I check Preware every couple of days and am really hopeful when I see new patches and then find out they are not compatible with 1.4.5. Then I check the apps section and there's nothing new there either.

Then I go to precentral.net and there are 3 new articles about the Touchpad and related apps.

The Pre+/- is laying at the bottom of an open grave. The Pre2 was basically tossing down a rope and then letting go of the other end. The Veer was 2ft stepladder handed down to get out of a 6ft hole. Unless they've got like 100 apps lined up for the Pre3 that nobody knows about (mainstream apps like Netflix), we're dead in the water.

Also note, we are arguing over one phone here. At&t alone has like 8 Android phones and 3 iPhones. While we're at it, HP/WebOS has 1 tablet while Android has tablets from several manufacturers. I've played with the Touchpad, and it's nice, just like my phone.... BUT is it THAT much better than any of the Android tabs?

If you are gonna have one product model in a market where other lines have several similar models, you have to REALLY stand out... which Apple does, just by being Apple. WebOS is an AMAZING operating system, just ask any WebOS user. Ask anyone who hasn't used it though and they've either never heard of it, or didn't really think it was any more intuitive than Android.

WebOS is marketed as "Works the way you do" it certainly works the way I do, but I'm very technical. My wife hates it. My son always ends up closing the apps I put on for him because he's only 3 and wants to touch everywhere. (I've seen 2 year olds playing with iPads and as long as they don't push the button at the bottom, it's fine... with webos, one upswipe and the game is small and paused WHAT HAPPENED, DADDY?)

As I always say, I love my Pre Plus. Unfortunately, the speaker has stopped working so I have to rely on vibrate and can only enjoy media using headphones or plugging into my car stereo which makes it hard to share stuff. At this point, I'm just waiting for the price to drop on the Android phone I want and will probably buy it before the Pre3 comes out (if it even does).

Tagging this article as "News" by precentral is abosolutely irresponsible reporting. This article should be clearly labeled for what it is IN THE TITLE. This is rampant speculation and should be labeled appropriately. Not hidden away in tags (where this article is tagged news).

This piece is nothing more than an opinion with NO FACTS at all included. It's obvious intent is to develop hatred for Hewlett Packard and sympathy for Sprint for some reason.

The days of objective reporting is gone at precentral.net. It was fading away under the previous editorial staff, it is now gone under the current.

Is it time for precentral to change it's byline from #1 webOS Community to #1 WebOS Rag?

This would be an interesting break-up story if only either of the two parties, HP vs. Sprint were the slightest bit interesting. On one side you have "loyalty" to Sprint which is basically coveting the lowest price from the discount carrier. It's like the "Please let me keep my SERO!" tragedy Part II. Riveting.

On the other side is loyalty to HP which is a conglomerate which manufactures mostly commodity gray hardware with no identity other than a model number. Every try to go through a list of HP printers to find a driver? Mind boggling.

So, you discovered that you were an HP fanb0y about a year ago because they bought the Palm IP assets at a firesale. Wonderful. Why do I get the impression that, two years from now, there will still be a group of Pre 2 users, here, keeping their Sprintified devices taped together with duct tape wondering whether Sprint will come back to webOS?

If this news is true - I will abandon the WebOS family, because a bone head move like this from HP indicates their lack of understanding of the mobile market; as such the webOS platform in the cellular mobile market will not be long for this world.
I hope it is not true. I am waiting until September.
Kevin

"A shame but they only want to sell to ATT and VZW which we have documented for council."

If I would be a Sprint client, I would boycott to death HP for alienating the largest group of WebOS users. I hope most users will see how HP is showing us the finger for all this time, focusing on what they think is the "iPad killer". LOL, my stomach hurts from laughing... They market the Pre as being the interlink to Touchpad, yet they fail miserably to even show a delivery date, not to mention that now everyone has proof they are boycotting a large number of users just because they probably signed some deal with AT&T.

One thing is sure, HP will reach with WebOS 500,000 activations/day (like Android does now) when I will fly to the moon.

I refuse to believe anything bad about HP or webOS given their excellent track record of following through on what they say, supporting legacy device users, and just generally doing what is best for me as their customer.

How dare the editors say anything bad about HP or webOS on a fansite like PreCentral. My feelings are now hurt and I an outraged. I personally want to attack you now. You should go buy an Iphone or an Android and go to Android Central or the Iphone site. We don't need you trolls here.

Either way it doesn't matter. I'm switching to Verizon/AT&T and paying more in order to use an inferior product that no one wants to build apps for.

1) one idea is that HP is focusing on Verizon/ATT because Sprint fumbled the initial launch of the Pre... um, have you seen how Verizon treats webos? Have you seen how they handled the "launch" of the pre2? Has ATT shown any real love to the Veer? True, Verizon/ATT have more users, but neither company is interested in telling those customers about webos

2) When the pre3 was announced, what seems like a decade ago, wasn't it compatible with BOTH Sprint and Verizons CDMA networks? If HP was done with Sprint, I'm sure they wouldn't have emphasized that it is capable of running on the Android, oops...I mean Now Network.

I just activated my 8th Pre-. They keep breaking. I have had 3 screen crack replacements and several start button replacements. No keyboard lights, no bluetooth connection, etc. The Sprint store folks have been happy to replace them on the spot until this last one, when after the rep consulted at length with the manager, they made me use my insurance ($100 deductible) for this one, they said they saw physical damage under the start button.They are getting a little less accommodating about the Pre.
I've been there so often we all know one another by sight if not by name.
Since I am an old guy that married Palm back when her last name was U.S. Robotics, they all talk Palm or WebOS with me when I am in the store. I usually ask what they have heard about the Pre3.
The point of all this story is the manager chats with me freely. The last time I was there, just last week, he told me they were hearing they would get a "full" WebOS on non-HP hardware "very soon."
After reading all the suppositions in these comments, I am throwing this possibility into the mix.

Just license the damn OS! I don't care about the maker, the phone or the carrier. I only want webOS. It's a shame it's being so restricted by such a joke of a company. I swore never to own another HP and this may include a phone.

I believe it.
Its partially obvious when you compare, say, a samsung launch to palm.
samsung is on every major carrier. And they're selling units, as everyone has access to their phones.
palm employees haven't shown much interest in t-mobile (this is pre-att). This to me just reiterates that they aren't seriously trying to compete. I'll wait for the phone after the pre3 to make my decision, but if the status quo remains, I'm gone. (esp w/ the lack of a gesture area. Gross. I'd rather get an android or rim phone by that point as I'm sure they'll both have gestures.)

The phones are still coming to Sprint, eventually. HP said they are trying to release a device a month on average. And I can't blame them for not putting my provider (Sprint) on the top of their priority list. Sprint has been waffling too much on what service they are even going to be providing this year - all in with WiMax, or all in with LTE, or hybrid of both - so I'm sure when HP looked at the size of AT&T and Verizon who have solid network plans laid out and HP could more quickly get their devices ready for, it seems an easy decision to focus all your resources on the top 2 and then trickle onto #3 as resources - and Sprint's network plans - begin to mature. Maybe it won't be the Pre3, but I won't have a problem with that at this point, since it is old news already, but there will be a solid webOS phone coming to Sprint in - dare I say ..."the coming months".

“A shame but they only want to sell to ATT and VZW which we have documented for council.”

I work at a large corporation, and if a deal couldn't be worked out between our company and another party, our company certainly would point the finger at the other party for internal communications.

If it is true that the source was copied on an email that was meant to be internal, of course it is not going to say, "We people in charge here at Sprint are currently refusing to work with HP to carry this phone."

I think that an internal communication at HP would be similar in the sense that HP would certainly blame Sprint for being the party at fault.

What can we take from this? It seems that Precentral knows that has "Sprint" in the headline will get some traffic :P

I think its Sprint I had the Pre minus for a year had to replace it 3 times my evo 4g got replaced once in a year I then sold it for 225 dollar's it was only a week old the replacement one.I now have the Evo 3d love htc phones.I just wish palm would have licensed it out to htc Samsung and lg instead of being bought out by HP in till they give use something new its just going to keep going downhill enough of the pre design already give us something different.I loved web os when I had but its just not enough anymore the pre 3 is already behind as far as specs go and its still not out so why would Sprint want it anyways